


Why We Fight

by GoldenCheetah54



Series: All Yours, All Mine [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Family Feels, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24873085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenCheetah54/pseuds/GoldenCheetah54
Summary: Zeb fights to defend Echo Base and the man he loves.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Series: All Yours, All Mine [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764739
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	Why We Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this one took a while. Hope you enjoy!

The alarm blared throughout Echo Base. It hurt Zeb's sensitive ears as he hustled to the front lines to repel the incoming Imperial attack. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire found their new base after the destruction of the Death Star. As he rounded the corner, Zeb's bright green eyes found his mate, Alex, watching the rebel soldiers march to war. When their gazes met, Alex ran into Zeb's muscular arms.

"They found us," Alex stated, a hint of fear wavering in his voice.

"But we'll make it. We made it out after Yavin, and we'll make it out after this too," Zeb said soothingly, gently rubbing Alex's lower back with a large thumb. Hearing Zeb say that calmed Alex, and he buried his face in Zeb's chest, wishing he could feel the soft fur underneath the white uniform. Hoth was so unforgiving that Zeb had selected a uniform with sleeves.

"We'll be alright," Zeb insisted. "I promise." He rubbed his cheeks against Alex's; a lasat "kiss." Alex greatly appreciated the affectionate gesture, savoring the smell of his lover in this life-or-death situation that they found themselves in.

"I love you, Garazeb," Alex said, pulling him into a human kiss. "I'll see you on the last transport."

"You should go now," Zeb suggested with a hint of a growl.

"I'm not leaving without knowing you're safe," Alex said softly. Zeb opened his mouth to say something but smiled instead.

"Okay. But stay safe, and don't be a hero," Zeb said, pulling the human close to his chest. The two shared another kiss of the human and lasat kind before Zeb had to hustle away to the trenches.

"I love you too, Alexsandr," Zeb called, walking backward so he could look upon his mate once more. Alex smiled and fought hard to resist the urge to run into Zeb's arms again. Zeb had a similar urge, but he was needed at the battle, so he turned around slowly and ran off with the other rebel soldiers. Alex stood in the hallway, looking in the direction that Zeb headed.

"Captain Kallus!" an intelligence officer called. "General Rieekan requests your presence." Alex nodded, taking one last look at where his lover stood, a sense of fear edging into his heart.

Zeb stood in the snowy trenches, rubbing his gloved hands together for warmth. He tried not to worry about Alex, but that was proving difficult. He needed to focus on buying as much time as possible for the evacuation. While far from a suicide mission, the odds were not stacked in the defender's favor; the rebels needed to prevent the Empire from destroying the power generator that powered the ion cannon. The air was tense. The soldiers were preparing for the battle ahead. An earth-shaking thud brought the rebels' attention to the battlefield in front of them. 

"AT-AT’s!" the rebel commander called to the soldiers. There were murmurs of terror from the newer soldiers, but Zeb was unfazed. He'd encountered these in the past and knew their weaknesses.

"How are we supposed to fight that…?" a young soldier mumbled to himself. Zeb knew the feeling of staring down impossible odds, watching hope vanish with each passing minute.

"I know they're scary lookin', but that's what the Empire wants. They're pretty ineffective if you look at it a bit closer. The knees are weak and so is the neck. Take out just one of those five points, and the whole thing falls over. They may be a symbol of terror, but they're pretty crap in a fight," Zeb explained to the soldier, who didn't look much older than Ezra before he vanished. "Once our flyboys get up there, they won't stand a chance."

Hearing this from Zeb, the soldier looked out at the approaching walkers, seeming to visualize how attacking one of the weak points would cripple the whole vehicle. 

"Wow. You're right, Captain Orrelios.”

"We got this, kid," Zeb said confidently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You got a name?"

"Jesse. Private Jesse McCannon, at your service, sir!" The young man said with a salute.

"You don't need to do that. Just call me Zeb," the lasat said, beginning to understand how Alex must've felt only being referred to as "Agent" for his whole career. "We're gonna get through this, okay? Stick close, and you'll be alright."

"Thank you, sir...I mean, Zeb, sir. Uh. Yeah," Jesse said, becoming increasingly flustered. "I'm nervous. This is my first battle, and I feel like I'm not going to see-"

"Stop that. If you make predictions about the end of a battle as it begins, you've already lost. Think about why you're fighting and why it matters to you. Think about the people you love to make you stronger. _Fight for them_." Jesse thought about this for a few moments before speaking.

"You're right again. Ben wouldn't want me to think about the end before it's arrived," Jesse said with a sigh. "Who do you fight for, Zeb?" He thought about this before responding. 

"It isn't just one person. I fight for my family. The family I have on the _Ghost_ , the family I have in my brothers- and sisters-in-arms fighting for freedom with me in these trenches, and…" Zeb hesitated, allowing himself a wistful smile. "And a family with the man I've come to love more than I would have ever thought possible." 

Zeb stared into the distance, looking past the approaching walkers and into a future where he and Alex could leave the war behind. Where the two of them could grow old together, where they could spend hours making their house as perfect as they wanted it to be, where they could watch their children grow up in a galaxy without the Empire, where they could bicker like the old married couple Zeb hoped they'd become. Zeb longed for that future, and that is what he was fighting for, now more than anything. 

"Then we fight together, Captain Orrelios," Jesse said, bringing Zeb out of his daydream. The young soldier gave the lasat a sharp salute, confidence residing upon Jesse's unscarred features. Zeb returned the gesture, smiling. Zeb pledged to himself to keep this young soldier safe.

The AT-ATs began their barrage of crimson laser on the rebel trenches. Most of the projectiles missed. The turrets scattered throughout the rebel trenches began to fire at the grey monoliths. The laser blasts were simply absorbed by the thick armor, and the walkers kept trudging onwards towards the power generator. Zeb scanned the battlefield for ground soldiers, and sure enough, numerous squads of snowtroopers were repelling to the ground from the walkers. Zeb instructed the nearby soldiers to open fire.

A volley of red hot lasers erupted from the trenches. Several snowtroopers were cut down, but their vengeful comrades returned their own volley of lasers. A few impacted next to Zeb, sending up a spray of snow.

"Karabast! Keep your head down, kid!" he called to Jesse as he fired several shots downrange.

"Yes, sir!" Jesse said, eyes wide with fear. Zeb continued to fire at the approaching snowtroopers. Rebels were being shot all around him. A turret behind Zeb was struck by an AT-AT, rupturing the white durasteel with an explosion of red and orange. Suddenly, a squadron of snowspeeders appeared from around a hill. A chorus of cheers sprang from the rebels.

"That's Rogue Squadron! They're some of the best pilots we have!" Zeb explained to Private McCannon. Both soldiers looked up at the flying craft. Zeb recognized a few of the snowspeeders being piloted by his friends like Wedge and Hobbie. He felt far more confident about his odds now that they had air support.

As the battle progressed, many of the AT-AT's were taken down by wrapping the legs with tow cables fired from the snowspeeders. The trenches were still being battered by barrage after barrage of heavy laser fire, throwing up huge clouds of snow powder and many unfortunate rebel soldiers. The snowtroopers were beginning to enter the trenches as well. In Zeb's sector, almost a dozen troopers poured into the snowy ditch.

Zeb switched his bo-rifle into melee mode and began to clear the snowtroopers out. Zeb struck two, purple electricity arcing into the white armor. He grabbed a rifle from the ground and threw it at another trooper, putting them off balance. Zeb knocked them out with a firm punch. He thrust with his bo-rifle into the back of a snowtrooper about to finish off a downed rebel. As the trooper fell, intense pain bloomed in his right shoulder. Zeb fell to his knees with a roar. Looking behind him, Zeb saw a sneering Imperial officer stride over to him, smoking pistol in hand.

Zeb reached for his weapon, but the officer kicked it away. The lasat looked up, and the world went quiet. The officer lowered the pistol to point at the space between Zeb's eyes; he closed them, accepting his fate. He had done all he could to save Alex and the Rebellion. Zeb wanted to keep living but was unafraid of his death.

A blaster shot rang out over Zeb's head. He opened his eyes to see the officer before him collapse, his face deformed and smoking. Jesse ran up to Zeb.

"Are you alright, Zeb?" Jesse shouted over the din of battle. "They destroyed the power generator! The retreat order has been given! We need to get out of here!" Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Jesse extended an arm to Zeb. The lasat took Jesse’s hand and was surprised by how strong the smaller man was. Zeb situated himself so that his unwounded arm was around Jesse. The tired soldiers walked away from the battle. The smoking craters passed by as they hustled to the waiting transport. Zeb was cold and tired and longed to fall into a warm bed with Alex.

As they approached the GR-75, Zeb began to scan the rebel personnel near the transports for Alex. After a few moments of stressful searching, Zen saw the long, sandy hair of Alex. The lasat detached himself from Jesse and crossed to his mate. Alex turned at the sound of heavy footsteps. The look of utter dread melted into oblivion as he laid eyes on Zeb. Alex ran into Zeb's arms, nearly jumping into the lasat's warm embrace. Zeb spun Alex around, ignoring the aggravation of his wound; Zeb was simply too enraptured with seeing Alex again to care.

"I was so worried," Alex whispered. "You were the last group to arrive. I'm so glad you're safe. Let's get you inside." Zeb couldn't argue with that; now that the adrenaline of combat had worn off, Zeb felt utterly exhausted. He was ready to get off this snowy rock and rest. As Alex and Zeb boarded the transport, Zeb saw Jesse embrace with another man, a pilot by the looks of his orange jumpsuit.

"Who is that?" Alex asked Zeb.

"He's a good kid. He reminded me why I'm in this fight. And he saved my life." Zeb explained. Alex looked at Jesse for a moment.

"And for that, he has my eternal thanks," Alex said, helping Zeb onto the transport. After the last rebels were aboard, the GR-75 shot into the sky, slipping through the blockade of Star Destroyers.

Zeb was sitting shirtless in a secluded corner of the transport while Alex treated his wounds. The two were silent, simply content being in each other's presence. Alex was putting the finishing touches on a sling for Zeb's right arm when Jesse and his pilot friend approached.

"Hey, Zeb. How are you holding up?" Jesse asked cautiously as he looked at Alex.

"I've survived worse. Glad to see you found your friend," Zeb said, regarding the pilot before him. He appeared to be more or less the same age as Jesse, with dark brown hair and the beginnings of a beard growing from his young face. He stood sheepishly before Zeb and Alex. Alex looked at the two of them for a moment before standing up. He looked at Jesse.

"I assume you're the one who saved Garazeb in battle," Alex said cooly. Jesse cleared his throat and stepped forward. 

"Yes sir. Private Jesse McCannon."

"You have performed a great service for me, and I will not soon forget it. I may speak with your commanding officer about your act of heroism," Alex said with a smile. "The Rebellion is lucky to have you." Jesse looked in awe at the thought of a promotion. Alex liked Jesse. He reminded Alex of his younger self, willing to go above and beyond for a cause he believed in.

Jesse and his friend departed, leaving Alex and Zeb alone once again. Alex sank down next to Zeb and leaned into his unwounded side. Zeb wrapped his bare arm around the human, who snuggled closer. Alex idly traced patterns into the fur on Zeb's chest, feeling his eyes close with the weight of sleep. Zeb placed a kiss atop Alex's head and was soon snoring softly alongside his lover, dreaming of the day when he and Alex could settle down and start a family of their own.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave comments and kudos! Looking for ways to improve this series, so please leave me some feedback.


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